


He Would Be Fine

by faithfulcat111



Series: Sanders College Au [3]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, Mention of Therapy, Seizures, Social Anxiety, and is panicking the whole time, but only vaguely referenced, deceit's name is declan, don't quit therapy kids, mention of panic attack in chapter 1, mention of surgery briefly, more important mention of quitting therapy, panic attack in chapter 2, roommates fighting, virgil has intense anxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-10-13 16:50:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20585807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faithfulcat111/pseuds/faithfulcat111
Summary: Virgil has been asked to switch roommates and is denying how hard he is actually taking the move.





	1. Moving Downstairs

Virgil stood in his new bedroom, looking around at the stuff that Logan's family had so kindly moved downstairs for him. Someone had even made his new bed.

  
_"Could you please do this?" Toby asked, the noisemaker on the other side of the closed door of his office, just drowning out the sounds of the rest of the house. "I know you agreed to move at the end of the semester, but things have escalated and Logan's family wants to get him switched before his dad's back surgery the next weekend._

  
Virgil hadn't eaten since lunch at three and he was pretty sure that was just some rice that he packed in his backpack during break. He crouched down to pull open the cooler next to his bed, pulling out a can of soup. Did anyone leave milk in the fridge?

  
_"Sure," Virgil felt his face tug into a smile that he certainly didn't feel inside. "The only problem is I took on a temp job that starts that Friday and I will be spending literally all weekend at the theatre for tech week. I won't be here to move."_

  
There was no milk in the fridge. He looked back down at the new group chat that is apartment-mates created right before confirming all three were going to be gone that weekend and unable to help with the move. Virgil sighed and trudged to the front door.

  
_"Oh, I'll let them know and you can certainly work out logistics with Logan. Maybe his family can move your stuff down as they move his stuff up. As long as you have everything packed by then," Toby said. _   
_Virgil made his way up to his former apartment, knocking once on the open door before stepping in. Brian appeared to be the only one present, working on something on his computer. He looked up in surprise, "What's up?"_   
_Virgil was silent for a moment. "When can I tell Patton, Brian, and Harley? I mean, shouldn't they know that we have been planning on switching me and Logan, especially now that it is happening in three days?"_

  
Virgil held up his can of soup, "Believe it or not, there is no milk downstairs. Mind if I borrow half a can."  
Brian shrugged, "I'm pretty sure you were the last one to buy milk. Do they not share ingredients like we do?"

  
_"I'll be telling them all this afternoon," Toby said. "I'm sorry that I have to switch you. I know how close you've become to Patton this semester."_

  
Virgil shrugged, "Dunno. Everyone is out of town and I'm gonna be working every moment I'm not in class till break. But thanks." He slipped into the kitchen, quickly getting the milk he needed and leaving before Brian could question him further. He didn't, thankfully.

  
_"It's fine. Like you said, it has become a disaster zone downstairs," Virgil shrugged. Toby just nodded as Virgil continued, "Besides I'm friends with Roman, even though he won't be my roommate, he still will be in the apartment with me. I'll be fine."_

  
Virgil sat on the floor, staring at his new roommate, Declan's empty bed. His soup sat forgotten next to him. He could feel that gnawing inside starting to grow, but he pushed the panic attack down. He would be fine.


	2. The Struggle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil is struggling in his new apartment

"Hey boys, take a seat while I finish this email and then we can talk," Toby barely glanced at them when they walked into his office. Roman dropped down onto the couch across from Toby's desk, using one hand to tug Virgil down into the seat next to him. Logan sat on the arm of the couch next to Roman, his feet up in Roman's lap as he leaned against the wall. Virgil could feel himself start to curl into himself, grabbing at his elbows as his heart beat faster.

_Virgil was sitting on his bed trying to work out some problems with his research survey and why the data was everywhere when the door to his bedroom slammed open. He curled backwards, into the little alcove his bed was in, hoping that Declan wouldn't bother him as he grabbed whatever he had come here for. He really didn't feel up to dealing with people right now, not when he still had mounds of homework to do before his job started in two hours. But it was Roman's face that poked around the corner with a smile on his face, "Hey, Toby has agreed to speak with Logan and I about next semester's living situation and we want you there too."_

"Okay, done, what is up guys?" Toby said, finally turning away from the computer. 

Roman took the lead, "I know we have talked a few different times about next semester's living situation. Harley going on co-op means there is a spot opening upstairs in Brian, Logan, and Patton's apartment. And I know that the original plan was to have me move upstairs with them. But what about Virgil? He has expressed that he doesn't enjoy living downstairs either and that he misses Patton."

Toby turned towards Virgil, and even though his voice was gentle, Virgil could still feel himself curl up more as Toby asked, "Virgil, is this true?"

_"I thought it was decided already," Virgil tried not to whisper._

_"Yeah, but are you really happy down here? I know I'm not with Declan and Remy's constant fighting. Besides I have a couple of different suggestions," Roman said._

"Y-yeah," Virgil stuttered as he felt his throat tighten. 

Luckily for him, the conversation continued, as Toby asked, "Well, what do you suggest?"

"Either Brian moves downstairs and Virgil moves up with Roman or Declan and Remy room together like they were supposed to and Patton moves down and rooms with Virgil," Logan stated.

"Or Patton moves downstairs and either Declan or Remy move upstairs. Separate them entirely," Roman added.

_Virgil was sitting at his new desk, his music blasting in his headphones as he ignored the sounds of yelling from the living room. Things had de-escalated down here more than he realized. Also, the apartment walls were thicker than he realized. He turned the music up a little more and pulled his programming notes closer._

"I don't know if Declan or Remy will agree to being roommates or not being apartment-mates," Toby mused. "We got to think of what makes others happy here."

"And why do we have to bow to them?" Roman snapped. He took a deep breath before continuing, "Someone is going to have to make a sacrifice somewhere. And I know that it is gonna end up being one of us if you don't push a little." Virgil felt something grab his hand and squeeze it and tried to breathe.

_"You want to live with Patton, I want to live with Logan. We can't let the wants of everyone else make us unhappy," Roman said, resting his hands on the end of Virgil's bedframe. "So, when we get in there, you need to hold fast to what you want. Don't give in." _

_Virgil gulped, already feeling his insides twist as he looked up at this younger boy doing his best to rile him to action, "O-okay."_

Toby nodded, his face extremely passive. Virgil didn't like that he couldn't read what was happening. He squeezed Roman's hand back. Finally, Toby looked over at Virgil, "Would you be okay with just being in the same apartment as Patton? If I can't convince Brian or Declan or Remy to move, will you be willing to stay downstairs if I move Patton down too?"

Virgil glanced over at the other two. Logan was watching him, his gaze blank, while Roman stared straight ahead at Toby. Virgil looked back at Toby to say, "Y-yes, I would take that." He immediately felt Roman let go of his hand. Damn...

_Virgil's music had stopped twenty minutes ago, but he was too engrossed in his textbook to care. He was reading something interesting about Native American cultures and while he didn't know what this had to do with his speech class yet, at least his professor was giving them something fun before preparing for their final speech. His calm was interrupted when there were voices suddenly behind him. Declan and Remy walked into the room chatting. He heard the conversation die slightly as they spotted him, but he just clicked to the next page. This was his room too. He was not leaving. They could go to Remy and Roman's room if they wanted to chat privately. After a moment the conversation started back up again like he wasn't even there. Good._

Toby nodded. "Okay thank you Virgil, you can go. Logan and Roman, stay, I still want to talk to you." Virgil got up to dart for the door, but right before leaving, Toby spoke up again, "Verge, you are trying right? To spend time with your new roommates?"

Virgil nodded quickly.

_Virgil stood just within the apartment building, looking at the stairs leading upstairs. He had been doing his afternoon homework upstairs with Patton, just like he had been doing all semester. But Toby had called him out for spending more time in his old apartment than his new one. Didn't matter that Roman and Logan continued to spend just as much time either upstairs or downstairs in each other's rooms or the fact that Declan and Remy were both rarely home. Virgil was the one expected to try harder. He sighed. Toby was probably upset with him because he admitted that he quit therapy. Again. But he was getting sick of being the only one, or the only consistent one to show up to group social anxiety sessions. Didn't help his anxiety any when that happened. But Virgil was still gonna do it. He stepped into his empty apartment and set up his programming homework at the dining room table._

Virgil barely made it into his bedroom and the door closed before the panic attack finally hit. He collapsed on the ground, clutching the strands of carpet as he heaved for air. His brain and lungs were not cooperating and his heart felt like it was pounding out of his chest. He needed to breathe. Breathe. Breathe!

_"I have allergies so I run this diffuser to help clear the air sometimes. Do you have any specific allergies?" Declan asked when he finally got home that weekend. _

_Virgil looked up from where he was attempting to duck tape his shoe. He hadn't realized his black tennis shoes had gotten so bad and his black boots were too loud for this theatre's backstage, but he didn't have any money to replace his shoes till after this job, so duck tape it was. Virgil started to shake his head before saying, "No lavender. I'm not allergic. I just can't stand it. At all."_

_"Got it. Also, run any candles you want to burn past me, to make sure I'm not allergic to those either," Declan added. _

_Virgil jerked his head at his desk where a large sea salt candle sat, "That is my only one, so feel free to take a whiff whenever."_

_"Okay," Declan said. "I think we are going to make it through the rest of this semester just fine."_

After a few minutes likely, but what felt like a few hours, Virgil could finally breathe again. He barely pushed himself up to his knees when there was another, quieter knock on his door. He scrambled up quickly, scrubbing at his face and shoving the lingering bits of his panic attack down as he opened the door to see Roman and Logan. "Yes?" he asked, trying to keep his face steady.

If either of them saw anything, they kept quiet as Logan said, "Toby is gonna talk to the other boys. Hopefully, this all works out so everyone is happy. But right now, we just got to find out which stubborn pain will give first."

"Not us," Roman added, sternly. Then softer, "It will all be okay Verge, you'll see."

Virgil just nodded, "Thank you."

_Virgil frowned at his phone as he noticed a text from Toby, 'Declan's boyfriend is over right now. He had an attack. Keep an eye on them.' Virgil walked into his apartment, peeking in his bedroom door. Declan lay out on his bed, his boyfriend, a quiet one whose name Verge couldn't remember, held one hand. He nodded a greeting to Virgil and Virgil asked, "Do either of you need anything?" _

_Declan's boyfriend shook his head, "Nah, we'll be heading out as soon as he can get up again." _

_Virgil nodded and quickly grabbed his laptop from his desk before setting up on the living room couch where he could binge-watch YouTube and watch the two of them at the same time._

The two said their goodbyes and Virgil quietly closed his door before sliding down the door as the last of the panic attack grabbed his heart and lungs full-force. It took all his concentration to keep breathing, but as soon as another thought could cross his mind it was simply relief that something would change soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to make this just a two-part, but I think I'm gonna make one more part to sort of wrap-up this story.


	3. Fine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time jump forward with talk about last two chapters

Virgil was laughing at the video Patton showed him, the two sitting on their bedroom floor, ignoring the homework they should be doing, when an alarm on his phone went off. He groaned and set it aside to continue watching the video when their bedroom door swung open. "I heard that alarm, Virgil. You can't skip Astronomy again," Logan said, his backpack still on as if he just returned to the apartment.

"Give him a break," Roman spoke up, poking his head over Logan's shoulder. "He skips once to catch up on other homework and you have been hawking him ever since. Virgil is a junior, not you, Specs. Besides I have something far more interesting to share."

Virgil smirked at Roman's wink while Patton asked, "Oh, what is it?"

Roman dropped his backpack with a bang before settling down in front of the two, "Apparently, Declan is pulling out for the rest of the semester. He is going home and won't be back this time. Brian gets his own room, because, apparently, it is too late to bring someone else in."

"Really?" Logan carefully sitting down next to Roman. "Well, he should have gone home last semester. Is he finally listening to his doctor?"

"Yup," Roman popped the 'P'. "Which sucks that his health is bad and everything, but I would feel worse if he wasn't such a pain every time I saw him about us all moving up here."

"And with his co-op next semester, that means I won't see him again before I graduate," Virgil said. "That is strangely comforting."

Patton punched him lightly in the shoulder, "Now what did I say about talking about you abandoning us."

Virgil laughed before asking, "Out of curiosity, do you guys know what happened between Remy and Declan last semester? They were such close friends before that. I was a little surprised when they didn't room with each other and a lot surprised when I found out how bad their fights were upon moving in."

Roman and Logan looked at each other before Logan said, "Well, just bits and pieces really. I know something happened before school started that caused them to reach out to us and say that they thought it would be a better idea if we did freshmen with upperclassmen."

"Which caused some slight tension between Logan and me upon moving in cause they reached out and convinced me first before making it seem to Logan like it was my idea," Roman continued. "Of course, we were able to work stuff out between us." 

"Things just continued to escalate, fighting about furniture, about schedules, about whatever," Logan sighed, finally slipping his backpack off. 

"Toby made them go out together about the time it was decided Logan should move somewhere else at the end of the semester. It was like magic. Whatever they talked about on that day worked. They only had two more fights the next two months and, from what I understand from Seth, none this semester," Roman added."

"Of course, that is when Declan's health problems started and that is when Toby decided to try and prioritize Logan moving out. Roman insisted on moving out at the end of the semester too, which started the wreck of trying to shuffle us around," Logan rubbed at the bridge of his nose.

"But it resulted in the four of us being together," Patton pointed out, leaning against Virgil's arm.

"True," Roman said with a grin. "Four weirdos with an affinity for musicals and a tendency to get sick all the time."

"I'll have you know, it has been a whole month since any of us have gotten sick!" Virgil exclaimed. When Roman started to open his mouth, he quickly added, "No, the fact that three out of four of us are allergic to whatever is currently in the water supply doesn't count."

"I mean, none of us has had to go to Student Health for it yet," Logan added.

Roman rolled his eyes, "I still can't believe it is an issue. Have you gotten ahold of the plumber yet, Virgil?"

"Yes and that is exactly why I didn't go to Astronomy today," he said with a smirk. "He'll be here in like ten minutes."

"Good, I got homework, think I'll go to the study room. Coming?" Roman quickly got back up, stretching before reaching down a hand towards Logan.

"Nah," Logan shook his head. "I have work in fifteen. I gotta change and go."

"Suit yourself," Roman scooped up his backpack. "Bye!!!"

"Bye!" the other three called back before Patton hit play on his phone and the sound of laughter filled the air.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm gonna write a second part to this, maybe more, because this is a vent of something that actually happened my junior year of college and I'm gonna write bits from the results of that experience.


End file.
